On April 15, 2020, Danone announced the upgrade of its vitamin beverage Mizone[1], involving new brand positioning, packaging design, product formula, taste, and many other aspects, aiming to gain more traction among the young generation.
More active ingredients and higher content of nutrient fortifiers - The original product was sold as a “low sugar & rich in vitamin C” product. The New Mizone contains about 0.6 grams of dietary fiber per 100ml, to maintain normal intestinal function, and the content of B vitamins has also been increased.
New taste - New flavors have also been rolled out. Mizone now offers oranges, bamboo green grape, and Kaman orange.
New packaging design - It replaced the original "fish-eye" modeling design with a flat font and solid color design in the logo, and removed all highlights and 3D effects, more in line with the aesthetic demands of younger consumer groups.
Multiple channels - The new Mizone products have been rolled out in supermarkets, convenience stores, grocery stores, and e-commerce channels across the country. The new orange flavor product is sold on its Tmall flagship store [2] at the same price as the previous iteration of the product.
Net Content | 1000ml | 600ml | 400ml |
Retail Price | 7 yuan | 5 yuan | 3.6 yuan |
Development of Mizone in China
Mizone was introduced to China in 2003 as a sports beverage. From a regulatory perspective, Mizone is classed as a general food rather than the special food and does not need to comply with Chinese functional food regulations. The product does not require filing or registration like Red Bull, another popular energy drink. Its major competitors include Jianjiao(尖叫) by Nongfu Spring and G-VITAL(激活) by Wahaha.
Mizone’s sales volume in 2015 reached 9.8 billion yuan, with a market share of approximately 90%. However, in 2016, Mizone's sales dropped by 30%. Danone has made some efforts to reverse the declining performance of Mizone in the past three years. In 2017, Mizone adjusted its tastes and expanded its product line, introducing two new flavors, cactus green orange and sea salt mango, as well as launching a new product line called "blazing energy," rich in taurine and plant extracts. In 2018, Mizone introduced canned "blazing energy" drinks. In 2019, Mizone introduced three new products, the first containing taurine, the second containing ginseng, and the third containing fiber.
In 2019, about one-third of Danone China's revenue came from its drinking water and beverage business, or about 6.5 billion yuan[3]. It estimated that the sales volume of Mizone in the Chinese market is about 5 billion yuan, nearly half that of 2015.
China functional beverage market
China’s market for functional beverages is increasing at a fast rate. From 2011 to 2017, the annual compound growth rate of retail sales of functional beverages reached 17.1%. According to this growth rate, the retail sales of China's functional beverage market is expected to reach 163 billion yuan in 2020.
According to the goals expounded in China’s National Fitness Plan (2016-2020), 700 million people are projected to take part in physical exercise once a week or more, and 435 million people will take part in physical exercise regularly in 2020. The sports consumption market will reach 1.5 trillion yuan accordingly [4] and will allow the functional beverage market to expand to quench the increased demands of China’s thirty populace.
Lack of differentiation amongst top products is a major problem for companies, a problem which many companies are looking to address through new product development, marketing, and new market positioning.
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